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REPORT 



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NEW JERSEY 



COMMISSIONERS 



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THE WOKLD'S FAIR 



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Read, January 14, 1952, and ordered to be printed. 



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REPORT 



To His Excellency, George F. Fort, 

Governor of New Jersey: 

Sir, — The undersigned chairman of the commissioners ap- 
pointed by your Excellency " To represent the state of New 
Jersey at the World's Fair," held at London, in the year 1851, 
respectfully reports, — That, soon after the receipt of their re- 
spective commissions, your commissioners departed from the 
United States for Great Britain, where they attended the exhi- 
bition of the World's Fair, in pursuance of the trust reposed in 
them. The fair was opened with much pomp and ceremony 
at the time originally designated by the royal commissioners, 
on the 1st of May, 1851, and closed on the 14th day of Octo- 
ber, the same year. 

The novelty of the occasion which suggested the appoint- 
ment of the commission, and the importance of the duties inci- 
dental thereto, and obviously devolved upon it by its very 
nature, render it a subject of regret that these duties were not 
prescribed by legislative or other authority. Your commis- 
sioners would then have known all that was required at their 
hands, and could have directed more intelligently their atten- 
tion to those objects to which it was invited, and kept in view 
some practical results to be obtained by their services. In the 
absence of any such guide — without instructions or organiza- 
tion, and under no obligation to act in concert with any definite 



result with reference to ulterior state purposes — the under- 
signed must assume, as chairman of the commissioners, the 
responsibility of submitting the result of his own observations, 
and take to himself the censure which the defects of his report 
may incur. 

The origin and history of such a remarkable exhibition art: 
entitled to a preliminary notice in the observations which are 
offered. 

The World's Fair of 1851 originated with the Society of 
Arts in London, under the lead of the Prince Consort of Great 
Britain. The plan of the exhibition was elaborated in that 
society, the government induced to patronise it, and the sym- 
pathies of the whole British nation enlisted for its success. 

It is due, however, to the truth of history that we remember 
what is admitted, even by the eulogists of Prince Albert, that 
the "idea of an exhibition, which should include specimens of 
the industrial products of various nations," originated in the 
early part of 1S49, with M. Buffet, the French Minister of 
Agriculture and Commerce.* Notwithstanding the idea is 
thus of French origin, great commendation is due Prince 
Albert for the sagacity, ability and perseverance which he dis- 
played in directing and suggesting the details,, and consummat- 
ing the arrangements required. M. Buffet, from want of suffi- 
cient encouragement by the French artizans and manufacturers, 
abandoned his design. His English neighbors adopted it, 
nurtured it, and with the co-operation of all classes, success- 
fully demonstrated the practicability and the advantages of 
uniting, through their representatives, all countries in one 
peaceful congregation for useful competition and mutual benefit. 

The fact is now accomplished, — a World's Fair has been 
held, — the people and the works of industry of almost every 
country inhabited by civilized man have been gathered to- 
gether in one amicable congress. Great and important advan- 
tages will be derived from this assemblage. It will be held to 



* See " History of the Great Exhibition," in the " Illustrated Art Jour- 
nal," page 2. 



5 



constitute an epoch in the history of commerce, the arts and 
manufactures. 

Fairs, at which direct commerce was the primary object, 
have been held at various periods, and inmost countries where 
any knowledge of science and the arts existed. They were 
known to the ancients, — have been resorted to from time im- 
memorial in Asia, and contributed much on the continent of 
Europe after the revival of letters and the arts, to promote the 
prosperity of those nations which gave them encouragement. 
National as well as municipal exhibitions likewise, at which 
prizes were awarded for excellence in particular products or 
fabrics, have also taken place in several kingdoms of Europe. 
In our own country the exhibitions of the American Institute 
in New York, and of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, 
are well known and have excited the most happy influence. 
The advantages derived from such exhibitions of industrial 
products have been felt by all classes of producers, and are 
worthy the attention of all- governments. They have not 
failed to diffuse valuable information, to stimulate industry, 
excite emulation, encourage inventions, promote the general 
welfare and increase the productive powers of labor. 

The exhibition of 1851 was not designed so much to sub- 
serve or facilitate commerce as to stimulate, by a peaceful and 
universal competition, the inventive genius, the dexterous 
skill, productive capacity and wisely directed labor of the 
whole family of civilized man. It was not to create a market 
for the interchange of commodities, but really to ascertain 
what commodities were produced by all nations ; to invite a 
comparison of their respective achievements in all pursuits of 
industry; to enter on a "race for excellence," and generously 
to impart the peculiar science, skill and perfection of one 
nation, in any one product, to all mankind. 

The idea of a World's Fair for such purposes was certainly 
an original and noble conception, worthy of the age and honor- 
able to its authors and to those who carried it into practical 
execution. The experiment has proved successful, beyond the 

1* 



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most sanguine expectations of its friends. It has been a pro- 
fitable as well as a most useful and honorable experiment. It 
may be and doubtless will be repeated, without hazard. A 
World's Fair may eventually be held every year. The nations 
or the earth may be persuaded to hold it successively and in 
rotation. It may become an established institution, univer- 
sally recognized by all civilized countries, at which, annually, 
the representatives of the whole human family may unite in 
amicable rivalry and harmonious consultation for the promotion 
of peace, forming a more perfect union, establishing justice, 
and multiplying the blessings of commerce ; or, in the language 
pf the British Queen, it may " promote among nations the cul- 
tivation of all those arts which are fostered by peace, and 
which, in their turn, contribute to maintain the peace of the 
world." 

We remarked above that the World's Fair was patronized 
by the British government. This patronage consisted in facili- 
tating the correspondence of the royal commissioners and their 
committees with foreign nations, the organization of the police, 
the granting of letters patent, constituting the commissioners a 
special corporation, and the admission of articles from other 
countries for the exhibition without the exaction of duties. 

The expense of constructing a suitable building for the exhi- 
bition and all other expenses incidental to the enterprise were 
defrayed by voluntary contributions, or the proceeds of the 
exhibition itself. These proceeds far exceeded the whole 
expense incurred. Individuals subscribed a guarantee fund of 
two hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling, one of whom 
headed the list with his subscription ot fifty thousand pounds 
sterling. Upon this security th« necessary advances were ob- 
tained from the bank of England . 

A magnificent structure, covering about nineteen acres ot 
ground or about seven hundred and seventy-two thousand, 
seven hundred and eighty-four square feet, and seventy feet in 
height, constructed of iron and glass, with a small proportion 
of wood, was designed ; the iron worked into its suitable seg- 
ments—the glass manufactured — and the whole reared into a 



fabric of unparalelled magnitude, beauty and adaption to the 

purposes for which it was built, in the short period of less, 
than ten months. 

In constructing this gigantic palace, thirty-five hundred 
tons of cast iron and five hundred and fifty tons of wrouiilit 
iron were used : together with eight hundred and ninetv-six 
thousand superficial i'eet of glass, and six hundred thousand of 
wood. The total area of the ground floor was seven hundred and 
seventy-two thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four square 
ieet, and that of the galleries two hundred and seventeen thou- 
sand, one hundred square feet. The total cubic contents of 
the building was thirty-three million feet. 

The first column of the Chrystal Palace was not fixed until 
the twenty-sixth of September, consequently the actual period 
of time in which the building was Commenced and completed, 
was only seven months. When we reflect on the vast propor- 
tions of the structure — the laborious scientific estimates and cal- 
culations that were necessary before the iron and wood work 
could be prepared — the machines for saving labor, which had 
to be invented and manufactured — the numerous contracts for 
work and materials required, and the thousands of hands em- 
ployed — the rapidity with which the building was designed — 
its constituent parts prepared and put together, is one of the 
most marvellous achievements of human science, industry and 
dexterity ever recorded in history. 

The following brief but comprehensive description of the 
internal appearance of the Chrystal Palace after the first of 
May, 1851, by an eye-witness, will present a summary and 
correct general outline of its contents and aspect, and suffi- 
ciently depict for the purposes of this report, the extent and 
character of the entire exhibition, together with a general idea 
of the peculiarity of the structure itself and the arrangement of 
the articles exhibited. 

"On entering the building for the first time the eve is Coin- 
er o 

pletelv dazzled by the rich variety of hues which burst upon 
it on every side, and it is not until this partial bewilderment 



• 8 

has subsided that we are in a condition to appreciate as it 
deserves its real magnificence and the harmonious beauty of 
effect produced by the artistical arrangement of the glowing 
and varied hues which blaze along its grand and simple lines. 

After passing through the southern entrance, the whole ex- 
tent of the transept, interrupted only by the magnificent glass 
fountain of Messrs. Osier, and the groups of sculpture and 
tropical plants and trees that are intermixed throughout, flashes 
on the eye more like the fabled palace of Vathek than a struc- 
ture reared in a few months by mortal hands. On either side, 
as well throughout its centre, are ranged groups of statuary 
by Bailey, MacDowell, Foley, Marshall, Lough, Bell, Maro- 
chetti, Wyatt, Watson, Weekes, Hollins, Legrew, Earle, and 
other well-known English sculptors. Forming the centre, or 
nearly so, of the entire building, and dividing alike the transept 
and the nave, rises the gigantic fountain of Osier, the culminat- 
ing point of view from every quarter of the building ; whilst, at 
the northern end, the eye is relieved by the verdure of tropical 
plants and the lofty and overshadowing branches of forest trees. 

On the right, looking from Messrs. Osier's glass fountain 
up the eastern division of the nave, towards the American 
organ and its enormous eagle, a combination of splendors bursts 
upon the sight of overpowering magnificence. Here, as in 
the transept, the objects which first attract the eye are the 
sculptures which are ranged on every side ; some of them of 
colossal size and of unrivalled beauty, by Kiss, Simonis, Monti, 
Du Seigneur, Duchesne, Muller, Schwanthaler, Powers, and 
others. The western division of the nave, devoted to the pro- 
ducts of England and her colonies, if less showy, on a super- 
ficial view, than its rival, has much of sterling merit to recom- 
mend it. Here, too, are interspersed, statues, fountains, 
mirrors, organs, and other large ornamental objects. 

Crossing the transept and pursuing our course to the left, 
we enter the western division of the nave. We have here the 
Indian Court, Africa, Canada, the West Indies, the Cape of 
Good Hope, the Mediaeval Court, and the English Sculptor 
Court, including works of Gibson, Bailey, MacDowell, Foley, 



9 

Carew, Marshall, Behnes, IJogan, Bell, Jones, Stephens 
Thornycroi't, Watson, etc. To these succeed Birmingham, 
the great British furniture court ; Sheffield, and its hardware; 
the woollen and mixed fabrics, shawls flax and linens, and 
printing and dyeing. The long avenue leading from the 
Mediaeval Court to the end of the building is devoted to 
general hardware, brass and iron work of all kinds, locks, 
grates, etc. ; whilst behind it, and parallel with it, but occupy- 
ing three times its breadth, is the department for agricultural 
machines and implements. At the back of this division is the 
long narrow gallery occupied by the mineral products of Eng- 
land. Passing the small compartment of glass which runs 
transversely under the great organ gallery, across the nave, 
we have the cotton fabrics and carriage courts, leather, furs, 
and hair, minerals and mineral manufactures and machinery, 
including cotton and power-looms in motion. The next is the 
largest compartment in the building comprising machinery in 
motion, flax, silk and lace, rope-making, lathes, tools and 
mills, minerals and mineral manufactures, furniture, marine 
engines, ceilings, hydraulic presses, steam hammers, fire-en- 
gines, etc. Then follow paper and stationery ; Jersey, Ceylon, 
and Malta, with the Fine Arts Court behind them; railway and 
steam machinery in motion ; building contrivances, printing 
and French machinery, occupying the whole of the last com- 
partments on both sides of the nave, as well as those w T hich 
face the transept. Crossing to the left to the crystal fountain, 
we have Persia, Greece, Egypt and Turkey, Spain, Portugal, 
Madeira and Italy ; musical instruments and chemicals ; France, 
its tapestry, machinery , arms and instruments, occupying two 
large courts ; Belgium, her furniture, carpets and machinery ; 
Austria, with her gorgeous furniture courts and machinery 
furniture ; the Zollverein, with its octagon room, the most 
tastefully arranged compartment in the building; north of 
Germany and Hanse Towns ; Russia, with its malachite doors, 
vases and ornaments ; and the United States, with its agricul- 
tural implements, raw materials, etc., occupying all that part of 
the nave which terminates with its organ, if we except a small 



10 

gallery on the north-east side, devoted to English paper-hang- 
ings. From the extremity of the building, and from the organ 
gallery more especially, the finest coup d'aeil of the nave and 
its adjoining galleries may he obtained. 

Crossing once more the nave on our return, we pass from 
the United States to Sweden, part of Russia, Denmark, another 
division of the Zollverein, Russian cloths, hats and carpets? 
Prussian fabrics, Saxony and the Austrian sculpture court, 
Austria, running back side by side with Belgium, the whole 
way. 

Next succeeds another division of France, with its splendid 
frontage of articles of virtu and ornamental furniture, 
its magnificent court for plate, bronzes and china, its tasteful 
furniture and carpets, its jewels, including those of the Queen 
of Spain ; its laces, gloves and rich embroideries ; Switzerland, 
China and Tunis, terminate this half of the nave. 

Among the more striking objects in the south-eastern gal- 
lery in the British half of the nave are the silks and shawls 
abutting on the transept, lace and embroideries, jewelry and 
clocks and watches ; and behind them, military arms and 
models, raw produce, substances used as food, and chemicals. 
Traversing the gallery, for naval architecture, by the organ, 
we have philosophical instruments, civil engineering, architec- 
ture and building models, musical instruments, anatomical 
models, glass chandeliers, decorations, etc. ; china, cutlery, 
and animal and vegetable manufactures, and china and pottery 
above the left side of the northern part of the transept. On 
the opposite side, in the north-eastern gallery, are perfumery, 
toys, fishing materials, miscellaneous articles, wax-flowers, 
stained glass, British, French, Austrian, Belgian, Prussian, 
Bavarian and American products. 

Clear passages under the galleries, of eight and ten feet 
broad, run the whole length of the building. Upon the ex- 
treme north and south sides there are also longitudinal passage® 
of similar width ; the former interrupted by the offices of tlie 
commissioners and the entrances, and the latter by the refresh- 



11 

ment-rooms. With the exception of the offices, staircases, 
entrances, refreshment courts, and the various avenues and 
passag s, including the transept, the whole of the ground-floor 
and galleries are available for exhibitors. As we have already 
shown, foreign countries, including the United States of 
America, occupy the east side of the transept above and below: 
whilst the United Kingdom, the East Indies and the British 
colonies, are confined to the west side, with the exception of 
the United Kingdom, which extends into parts of the north 
and south galleries on the east side of the transept. The pro- 
ductions of England and her colonies occupy thirty separate 
sections- Of the four main departments into which it is divided 
machinery occupies the north side ; raw materials and produce, 
the south side, and manufactures and the fine arts the 
centre. Along the central passage, to the west of the transept, 
a frontage on each side, of seven bays, or one hundred and 
sixty-eight feet, is devoted to the productions of the colonies. 

The total cost of the Chrystal Palace has been estimated at 
one hundred and fourteen thousand, eight hundred pounds 
sterling. A prize fund of twenty thousand pounds sterling 
was established, and the cost of management up to April 1850 
was ascertained to be twenty thousand pounds sterling. 

The fundamental principles of the exhibition were settled in 
February 1^50. It was then declared to the world that the 
productions of all nations were invited for exhibition ; classi- 
fied lists of objects were prepared and published by committees 
of eminent persons in each department, to show the nature of 
the contributions to the exhibition. These objects were em- 
braced in four great divisions : 

1st — Raw Materials and Produce. 
2nd — Machinery. 
3d — Manufactures. 
4th — Fine Arts. 

Every article exhibited was classified under one or other 
of these divisons as belonging to its specific class. Thirty 
classes were enumerated, and to each class a special superin- 



12 

tendant was appointed. To each class an appropriate number 
of jurors was designated to decide on the merits of articles, 
and award prizes. 

The following comprises under their appropriate sections, 
the thirty enumerated classes, with the number of their re- 
spective jurors : 

Section I. — Raw Materials and Produce, illustrative of the 
natural productions on which human industry is employed. 

No. of 
jurors. 

1. Mining and Quarrying Metallurgy and Mineral 

Products, ------ § 

2. Chemical and pharmaceutical processes and pro- 

ducts generally, ----- 8 

o. Substances used as food, - 6 

4. Vegetable and animal substances used in manu- 

factures, implements, or for ornament, - ' 8 

* 

Section II. — Machinery for Agriculture, Manufacturing, En- 
gineering' and other purposes, and Mechanical Inventions^ 
illustrative of the agents which human ingenuity brings to 

• bear upon the products of nature. 

5. Machines for direct use, including carriages, rail- 

way and naval mechanism, - - - 12 

6. Manufacturing machines and tools, - - 12 

7. Mechanical, civil engineering, architectural and 

building contrivances, - 8 

8. Naval architecture, military engineering and 

structure, ordnance, armor and accoutre- 8 

ments, ------- 8 

9. Agricultural and horticultural machines and im- 

plements, (exceptional)- - 12 

10. Philosophical instruments and miscellaneous con- 
trivances, including processes depending upon 
their use, musical horological, acoustical and 
surgical instruments, - 15 



Section III. — Manufactures, illustrative of the result pro- 
duced by the operation of human industry upon natural 
produce. [Designs for manufactures are admitted in the 
same section with the class of articles for which they are 

proposed.) 

No. of Jurors. 
11. Cotton, 10 

1:2. Woolen and worsted, ----- 12 

13. Silk and velvet, ------ 10 

14. Manufactures from flax and hemp, - 10 
10. Mixed fabrics, including shawls, - - - 12 

16. Leather, including saddlery and harness, skins, 

fur and hair, ------ 10 

17. Paper, printing and bookbinding, - 8 

18. Woven, spun, felted and laid fabrics, when shown 

for printing or dyeing, - 10 

19. Tapestry, including carpets and floor cloths, lace 

and embroidery, fancy and industrial works, 10 

20. Articles of clothing for immediate personal or do- 

mestic use, ------ 8 

21. Cutlery, edge tools and hand tools and surgical 

instruments, ------ 6 

22. General hardware, - 12 

23. Works in precious metals, jewelry and all arti- 

cles of luxury not included in the other classes, 8 

24. Glass, 8 

25. Cramic manufacture, china, porcelain, earthen 

ware, &c, - 8 

26. Decoration, furniture and upholstery, paper hang- 

ings, papier mache and japanned goods, - 12 

27. Manufactures in mineral substances used for 

building or decorations, as in marble, slate, 
porphyries, cements, artificial stones, &c, 6 

28. Manufactures from animal and vegetable sub- 

stances, not being woven, felted or laid, - 6 

29. Miscellaneous manufactures and small wares, 10 

2 



14 



30. Section IV. — Fine arts, sculpture, models, and 
the plastic arts generally, mosaics, enamels, 
&c, illustrative of the taste and skill displayed 
in such applications of human industry, - 12 

More than one-third of the whole space of the building 
was allotted to foreign countries, amounting to about two hun- 
dred and twenty-five thousand superficial feet. Foreign pro- 
ductions were admitted for the purpose of exhibition without 
payment of duties or any charge for exhibition. The English 
colonies were conceded fifty-one thousand feet and England 
retained the remaining space for the appropriation of her own 
exhibitors. 

So far as respects the space allotted to the United States 
we have every reason to commend the liberality of the royal 
commissioners. To the United States forty thousand square 
feet were appropriated, a quantity more than was necessary 
and the extent of which was subsequently a subject for regret. 

With regard to the distribution of rewards to deserving 
exhibitors, it was decided they should be given in the form of 
medals — not with reference merely to individual competition, 
but as rewards for excellence in whatever shape it might be 
presented. The selection of persons to be so regarded was en- 
trusted to juries composed respectively of an equal number of 
British subjects and foreigners. The selection of juries for 
each foreign country was left to that country. Persons of 
skilled knowledge, it was intended, should be chosen to repre- 
sent those classes of objects in which the country was an ex- 
hibitor. 

Each jury was presided over by a chairman appointed by 
the royal commissioners. The awards were required to be 
submitted to a council composed of all the chairmen of the 
several juries, in order to secure uniformity of action and a 
compliance with the regulations originally prescribed by that 
body. The council of chairmen consisted of British subjects 
and foreigners in nearly equal numbers. They framed the 
rules for the guidance of the juries. The awards gave as 



15 

general satisfaction as under all circumstances could be reason- 
ably anticipated. 

The whole number of exhibitors was fifteen thousand, and 
the whole number of articles exhibited exceeded twenty thou- 
sand. Great Britain furnished ten thousand eight hundred 
and forty-nine exhibitors including those from her colonies. 
The colonies furnished two thousand one hundred and ninety- 
eight exhibitors. 

There were live hundred and thirty-four exhibitors from the 
United States, of whom New Jersey furnished nine. 

The "works of industry " exhibited were furnished by the 
subjects or citizens of the different countries of the four quar- 
ters of the world. They comprehended almost every known 
product of the earth, and nearly every artificial modification 
of natural substances which the genius of invention had dis- 
covered or on which human skill and labor is exerted. 

Europe, from her proximity to the place of exhibition, enjoyed 
a decided advantage over the other great subdivisions of the 
world, and improved it accordingly. For the same reason it 
might have been expected that Great Britain, even if her 
wealth, skill and variety of manufactures had been less than 
they are known to be, would have furnished the greatest num- 
ber of contributors. 

The exhibition was, after all, chiefly a British exhibit on 
British soil, and intended to promote British interests. The 
national pride of Britons and their spirit of rivalship was 
stimulated to the utmost not to permit an eclipse under then- 
own meridian in those evidences of industrial excellence upon 
which they found their pretensions to renown and disputed 
superiority. Besides these causes, which alone might go far 
to explain the surpassing extent and affluence of the British 
display at the World's Fair, the generosity of the royal com- 
missioners in defraying all the expenses of conveying and recon- 
vening the articles exhibited by British subjects operated as a 
direct bonus in favor of all British and colonial exhibitors. 
From the monarch to the peasant, all classes of British sub- 
jects were emulous to contribute to the display. Princes and 



16 

nobles proffered their jewels and the most costly ornaments 
and furniture from their saloons to embellish the exhibition. 
Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and the heir apparent to the 
throne, were among the contributors. On the continent of 
Europe the kings and emperors of the different nations for- 
warded their own contributions and defrayed the expense of 
transporting the articles furnished by their subjects for exhibi- 
tion. In fact, all the principal governments of Europe mani- 
fested a deep interest in the success of the World's Fair. It 
is their pride, and it constitutes a merit which cannot be denied, 
that as sovereigns, they patronize with vigilance and discrimi- 
nation all industrial pursuits, while it is said in the u Official 
Description and Illustrated Catalogue of the World's Fair'" 
(and we fear with more truth than our citizens will readily 
admit), respecting the United States, that " whole sections of 
the country have, until within a short time, virtually disre- 
garded, if not explicitly disavowed every other pursuit (but 
agriculture), and have left mining trades and manufactures, 
together with the resources and means for their prosecution,, 
without encouragement, either by state legislation or by the 
application of capital and labor to their development.* 

Europe, it must be admitted, in the splendor, number, and 
costliness of the articles she exhibited, bore off the palm at 
the World's Fair, and the British exhibitors, as might have 
been expected, form the wealth and luxury of Great Britain 
and the vast capital she has devoted to pursuits of industry,, 
excelled in the same characteristics. 

The causes which produced the disparity in the contribu- 
tions of the United States, when compared with those of Great 
Britain and some few other countries, are easily explained. 

A jealous spirit of rivalship which is not diminishing with 
the increased greatness of our country, exists among various 
classes towards everything British. The World's Fair was 
considered by many as a mere scheme to aggrandize Great 

* Official Description Catalogue, page 1,43 1 3 vol. iii. 



17 

Britain. A very general lack of information in relation to the 
objects of our British neighbors in getting up the World's 
Fair, existed. There seemed to be no sufficient security guar- 
anteed to exhibitors against an overwhelming expense and 
an entire sacrifice of the property exhibited. 

The government placed at the disposal of the exhibitors only 
a single national vessel, whose period of departure was fixed 
at so very early a date that a vast number who would other- 
wise have availed themselves of her aid, were precluded from 
making the attempt. 

Very inadequate views were entertained of the advan- 
tages to be derived from such exhibitions. The time at which 
the fair was fixed to open was so limited that it did not afford 
an opportunity for that full discussion which alone will satisfy 
our practical and calculating fellow-citizens, that a costly ex- 
periment should be ma^e, or that when made it would remune- 
rate the expense incurred in making. 

Undoubtedly, after the opening of the exhibition and the 
knowledge of its wonderful success had reached the United 
States many more contributors would have forwarded their 
articles had not the taunts, aspersions and petty ridicule of 
the English press, at the " poverty of the display/" 5 in the 
space allotted to the United States, in the Crystal Palace, pro- 
voked the national indignation and deepened the original im- 
pression, that fair-play would not be accorded to our country- 
men. It was an inconsiderate though patriotic motive which 
induced our countrymen to claim so large a space without 
more satisfactory evidence than they possessed of the certainty 
of its being occupied. 

The large space appropriated to the United States enabled 
our British brethren to scan the paucity and meagreness of 
our contributions, — while the departments occupied by exhi- 
bitors from other nations were crowded in profuse magnificence, 
and while the dazzling lustre of their gold and silver, precious 
stones, and rich and glittering glass and steel, and gorgeous 
fabrics of brilliant and flashing colors, by their very concen- 
tration, overpowered and bewildered with wonder and delight 

2* 



the spectator ; the naked and comparatively empty department 
cf the United States, where, at large intervals, unknown works 
of mechanical labor or rude products of the soil or mines were 
scattered with a studious effect to make up the deficiency of 
number and attraction by skillful arrangement, provoked the 
supercilious merriment of the flippant, the contempt of the 
ignorant and the denunciation of the malicious. 

Appearances, I confess, were very generally considered as 
terribly against our country for the first three months of the 
exhibition, and although public sentiment in America and among 
eur fellow-citizens who attended the fair, did not acknowledge 
that our display there was a proper standard by which to judge 
of the excellence of our skill or products ; yet, nevertheless, 
the impression at first produced by the paucity of American 
contributions was unfavorable and mortifying to our national 
pride. 

The most striking part of the display in all other depart- 
ments except that of the United States, consisted chiefly of 
articles of ornament and luxury. These articles constituted 
the most magnificent portion of the display. They engrossed 
the chief attention of the spectators, chained them with an. 
irresistible attraction, excited their wonder and ravished admira- 
tion. Indeed, in Europe it is those articles which minister to 
the ostentation and vanity of kings and nobles, for which the 
artizan is best paid. 

In the early part of the exhibition, the myriads who crowded 
daify the passages of the Crystal Palace, lingered but a few 
moments in that department allotted to the United States, and 
soon attracted by the glare and brilliancy which flashed in the 
distance from other departments, hurried with eager steps to 
gaze on the diamonds, the trinkets, the beautiful vases, gold 
and silver ornaments, tapestry, plate and candelabra, the 
exquisite furniture and costly devices which minister to the 
pomp of wealth and the gratification of vanity, which feeds 
the pride of pampered royalty, and distinguish the effeminacy 
of a degenerate aristocracy. 

The opinion began to prevail in the United States, as well 



19 

as in Europe, that our laurels obtained at the World's Fair 
would not be very numerous or important, that the vigor of 
our performance had not come up to the lofty and sonorous 
tones of our manifestos. 

But after the public curiosity had been satiated mth the 
more brilliant and dazzling part of the exhibition, when the 
noveity of the stupendous display which astonished and enrap- 
tured the multitudes who crowded the Crystal Palace had 
been worn away by familiarity, the minds of the more reflect- 
ing: and scientific began to seek for something else in the exhi- 
bition than the auxiliaries of pleasure and luxury and the vain 
lustre of an unprofitable magnificence. They began to dis- 
cover that there was a " poverty of display ; ' in articles of 
an utilitarian character, when compared with those of luxury, 
which distinguished every other department but that of the 
United States. 

It cannot be controverted, that in proportion to the number 
of articles exhibited by the contributors from the United 
States, the articles of utility were more numerous, than arti- 
cles of that character exhibited by other nations, in proportion 
to the whole number contributed by them. 

This feature, which so honorably distinguished our country, 
became much more striking- towards the close of the exhibition, 
When the inventions of our countrymen were submitted to 
practical tests, the results were such as astonished the world — 
rolled back the tide of ribald denunciation, and silenced the 
carping critics, whose malignity was confounded, and whose 
injustice was demonstrated. 

M'Cormick's Virginia reaping machine was in appearance, 
at first, considered by many, one of those extravagant Yankee 
contrivances, whose promised performance was incredible, and 
whose merits were thought palpably fabulous. Huge, un- 
wieldy, unsightly and incomprehensible, the burly English 
farmer contemplated it with contempt, while the continental 
savant passed it by as unworthy the regard of the scientific, 
or the investigation of the curious. But when submitted to 
the test of experiment — its admirable machinery, its perfect 



20 

work, and the celerity and exactness of its action, surprised 
the spectators — convinced the incredulous, and satisfied the 
British farmer that there was something in the machine which 
had not been " dreamed of in his philosophy." Its general 
adoption throughout the United Kingdom, as well as on the 
continent, will doubtless, in the course of a few years, effect a 
saving of labor to European farmers, in the aggregate, fat- 
exceeding the whole cost of the World's Fair. 

This triumph of American genius was succeeded by that of 
the American locksmith, Hob.bs, whose lock is the invention 
of Day & Newell, of New York. In justice to other inven- 
tors in our own country, I may here say that a lock made in 
our own state at Dover, was exhibited, which if it had enjoyed 
the benefit of the presence of those interested in its success, 
might have commanded a prize. In this department much 
excitement prevailed, and an honorable rivalry was waged be- 
tween the American and celebrated British locks, merchant 
princes and millionaire bankers of England, participated in the 
interest which this competition excited. They had the morti- 
fication of seeing the only lock previously deemed impregnable 
in Great Britain, picked before their eyes and rendered com- 
paratively valueless. 

A trial of Colt's revolvers produced a profound sensation 
among the military and political circles which were present at 
the World's Fair, Competent judges, consisting of military 
and scientific gentlemen, were satisfied of their immeasurable 
superiority to any other similar species of fire arms ever be- 
fore exhibited ; they eclipsed and threw into the shade almost 
every other warlike implement exhibited. 

Finally, when the awards of the juries were ascertained, it 
was discovered, that in proportion to the number of articles 
exhibited, the United States exhibitors obtained more prizes 
than Great Britain herself, or many of the most ancient and 
flourishing countries of continental Europe. 

The comparative number of prizes awarded to the different 
exhibitors of the different nations at the World's Fair, will be 
seen in the following table, which I have prepared for the pur- 
pose of showing their relative success. 



21 



Comparative Number of Prizes awarded to the different 
Nations at the World's Fair : 



Countries. 



England and her colonies, 

France and Algiers, 

Austria, 

Germany (Zollverein),- - 
United States of America, 

Belgium, 

Denmark, 

Egyp i > 

Greece, 

Hamburg, 

Hanover, 

Lubeck, 

Mecklenburg, 

Netherlands, 

Persia, 

Portugal and Madeira, — 

Rome, 

Russia, 

Sardinia, 

Spain, 

Sweden and Norway, — 

Switzerland, 

Tunis, 

Tuscany, 

Brazil, 

Turkey, 

China, 

Japan, 




384 

92 

289 

42 

270 

190 

116 

4 

3,380 

72 

4 



141 
81 

691 

211 

451 
71 

70;1 
41 

311 
11 

211 
71 
1 ! 1 



5,-500; 

14,000' 

7*125] 

92,875 
3,8?5 ; 
5,56-:j 
4,381! 
6,422! 
6,000; 
3,857J 

47,500: 

3,857 i 

4,000! 

161,000 

10,285 
4,000 



22 

It will not be expected that I should — nor have I attempted, 
to give an elaborate exposition of all the wonderful variety of 
products and works of industry which were exhibited at the 
World's Fair. Volumes have been written, descriptions of 
the articles displayed, and volumes more innumerable will 
yet be written in further elucidation of subjects connected 
with the exhibition. I have endeavored to direct attention 
chiefly to the great outlines and leading features of the exhi- 
bition and its practical results, and I shall confine my observa- 
tions within this scope. 

If we consider the contributions to the World's Fair wi^ n 
relation to their origin and the country of the exhibitors we 
shall find, as was to be expected, that Europe exceeded all 
the other quarters of the globe in the number as well as in the 
splendor of the articles displayed. Europe furnished sixteen 
thousand different articles ; Asia, one thousand one hundred 
and twenty-four ; Africa, six hundred and ninety-four, and 
America one thousand one hundred and eighty-four. 

The character and description of the articles exhibited are 
as fully portrayed in the recital which I have quoted in the 
previous pages of this report as its limits will permit. From 
that a general estimate may be formed of the magnitude, 
grandeur and opulence of this unparalleled exhibition of the 
products of nature, art and science. 

The United States department, occupying the eastern end 
of the Crystal Palace, displayed articles wholly composed of 
raw materials and produce and manufactures, with the excep- 
tion of a very few pieces of art. These latter specimens con- 
sisted of that masterpiece of the American sculptor, Powers, 
"The Greek Slave;" "The Wounded Indian," a statue by 
Stephenson, of Boston ; " The Fisher Boy," by Powers ; and 
some daguerreotypes. All the rest of the articles contributed 
by our countrymen consisted of the produce of the soil or 
mines. Fabrics of manufacture and machines of useful and 
labor-saving inventions. 

Yet no one state, or portion of the United States, was pre- 



jLd 

sent with anything like the variety or number of articles of 

merit and value which it was capable of furnishing. 

The states, represented by five hundred and thirty-four 

exhibitors, furnished the number of articles respectively, which 

are enumerated in the following tabic : 

names of states. No. of Articles. 

New York, - 218 

Massachussetts, - - - - - 89 
Pennsylvania, - - - - - 76 

Ohio, 44 

Virginia, ------ 26 

South Carolina, - - - - -23 

Vermont, - 17 

Maryland, ------ 16 

Connecticut, ------ 10 

New Jersey, 9 

New Hampshire, - 7 

Tennessee, ------ Q 

Kentucky, ------ (3 

Alabama, 5 

Rhode Island, - - - 4 

Missouri, _--__« 4 
Michigan, ----- _ 4 

Louisiana, ------ 4 

Indiana, ------ 3 

Washington City, ----- 3 

California, ------ 3 

Wisconsin, - - - - - - 2 

Illinois, --.___ 1 

Iowa, ------_1 

Mississippi, ------ 1 

Texas, - - - - - 1 

Maine, 1 

Arkansas, ------ 1 

North Carolina, ----- l 

In all five hundred and eighty-six articles. Among the 

five hundred and thirty -four exhibitors from the United States 



24 

there]were awarded five (5) council medals, one hundred and 
two (102) prize medals, and forty-seven (47) certificates of 
honorable mention. 

The following is the list of awards to United States con- 
tributors : — 

Class I. — Prize Medals. 

Adirondac Manufacturing Company, New York, for steel 
and iron. 

Morris, Jones & Co., for plate iron. 

New Jersey Exploring and Mining Company, for zinc ores, 
iron (Franklinite) ores, smelting process. 

Trenton Iron Company, for iron of fine quality, ores, &c. 
Honorable Mentions. 

Adirondac Manufacturing Company, New York, for cast 
iron, &c. 

Morrell, Stewart & Co., for sheet iron. 

Morris, Jones & Co., for boiler plate iron. 

Class II. — Council Medal. 
Joel Borden, Jr., for preparation called meat biscuit. 

Prize Medals, 

W. Barnes, for maple sugar. 

T. Bell, for soft wheat from Genesee. 

L. Dean, for maple sugar. 

Dill & Mulchahey, for Cavendish tobacco. 

C. Duffield, for ham. 

J. H. Grant, for Cavendish tobacco. 

Hecker & Brother, for Genesee flour. 

E. T. Herriot, for Carolina rice. 

B. B. Kirtland, for a collection of maize, thirty-five varie- 
ties. 

New York State Agricultural Society, for collection of 
wheats. 

Raymond & Schuyler, for flour, (thirds.) 

P. Robinson, for Cavendish tobacco. 

Schooley & Hough, for ham, Cincinnati. 



25 



Honorable Mentions. 
John Bridge, oil cake. 
George Dominick, lard. 
Hecker & Brother, farina. 
W. Hotchkiss, wheat. 
Lee, James & Co., oil cake. 
Mookler & Chiles, Cavendish tobacco. 
Oswego Starch Factory, fecula of maize. 
Oyler & Aderson, Cavendish tobacco. 
James Thomas, Cavendish tobacco. 
Thomas & Company, Cavendish tobacco. 
M. White. Muscovado sugar. 

Class III. — Prize MedaL 
Power & Weightman, chemicals. 

Hon or able Mention . 
Wetherill & Brother, various salts. 

Class IV. — Prize MedaL 
S. Bond, for cotton. 
Cockerrll, for wool. 
W. Colgate & Co., for starch. 
J. H. Ewing, for wool. 
W. Hampton, fcr cotton. 
George Hicks, for tillandsia usnoides. 
G. L. Holmes, for cotton. 

H. G. & L. B. Hotchkiss, for oil of peppermint. 
J. R. Jones, for cotton. 
J. V. Jones, for cotton. 
A. M. Kimber & Co., for wool, 
W. W. Macleod, for cotton. 

The State of Maryland, for collection of produce. 
J. B. Merriwether, for cotton. 
Perkins & Brown, for wool. 
J. Pope, for cotton. 
W. Seabrook, for cotton. 
Rev. Z. Thompson, for woods. 
J. Nailor, for cotton. 
Oswego Starch Factory, for starch. 



26 

Honorable Mentions. 
E. R. Dix, for hemp, flax and guano. 
G. Dominick, for lard oil. 
T. Emory, for lard oil. 

E. Feuchtwanger, for bleached shellac. 

F. Frank, for lard oil. 

L. Goddard, for whalebone. 
Holbrook & Stanley, for lard oil. 

F. O. Ketteridge, for corn husk fibre. 
R. J. Pell, for woods. 

Truesdale, Jacobs & Co., for cotton. 

Class V. (a) — Prize Medals. 

C. Childs, for slide top buggy or phaeton, apron of enamelled 
leather of very superior quality. The whole well got up 

and neatly finished. 

G. W. Watson, for a sporting wagon, very neatly finished 
in all respects. 

Class VI. — Council Medal. 

D. Dick, for various engineer's tools and presses. 

Prize Medals. 

Blodgett & Lerow, for sewing machine. 

T. K. Earl & Co., for card clothing. 

W. Hayden, for drawing regulator for cotton. 

Lowell Machine Shop, for self-acting lathe and a power 
loom. 

C. Starr, for book binding machine. 

J. P. Woodbury, for wood planing, tonguing and grooving 
machine. 

Class VII. — Prize Medal. 

Iron Bridge Manufactory, New York, for model of Ryder's 
patent iron bridge. 

Class VIII. — Prize Medals. 

National Institution of Washington, for models of ships of 
war, and large merchant vessels. 



27 

J. R. St. John, for nautical compass, purporting to show the 
presence of any disturbing forces upon the needle ; and also to 
show the amount of the deflection resulting from these causes. 

Honorable Mentions. 

Samuel Colt, for revolving rifles and pistols. 
W. R. Palmer, for target rifle. 
Robbins & Lawrence, for military rifles. 

Class IX. — Council Medal. 
C. H. M'Cormick, for reaping machine. 

Prize Medal. 
Prouty & Clears, for plough. 

Class X. — Council Medal. 

William Bond & Son, for the invention of a new mode of 
observing astronomical phenomena, &c. 

Prize Medals. 
A. D. Bache, for balance. 
M. B. Brady, for daguerreotypes. 
W. A. Burt, for solar compass — surveying instruments. 
J. Ericsson, for sea lead, pyrometer, &c. 
M. M. Lawrence, for daguerreotypes. 
John R. St. John, for detector compass. 
J. A. Whipple^ for daguerreotype of the moon. 

Honorable Mention. 
J, E. MayalL for photographs. 

Class X. (a) — Prize Medals. 

J. Checkering, for a square piano forte, and the jury think 
highly of his grand piano forte. 

C. H. Eisenbrant, for clarionets and flutes. 

G. Gemunder, for a Joseph Guarnerius violin, (chiefly,) and 
for three other violins, and a viola. 

C. Meyer, for two piano fortes. 

R. Nunns & Clark, for a 7-octave square piano forte. 



28 

Honorable Mentions.. 
Gilbert & Co., for a piano forte, with iEolian attachment, 
C. Goodyear, for the successful application of a new materia! 
(India rubber) for the manufacture of a flute. 
G, Hews, for a square- piano forte, 
J. Pirsson, for a patent square piano forte. 

Money Award. 

J. S. Wood, for the expenses incurred in constructing his 
piano violin, £50. 

Class XI. — Prize Medals ~ 

Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, for an assortment of 
drillings, tickings, sheetings and cotton flannel. 

Willimantic Duck Manufacturing Company, for cotton sail 
cloth. 

Class XII. — Prize MedaL 

Gilbert & Stevens, (Mass.,) for flannels exhibited by John- 
son,. Lowell & Co. 

Honorable Mention. 
B. T. & D. Holden, for blankets. 

Class XY. — Prize MedaL 
Lawrence, Stone & Co., for tartans made from native wool. 

Class XVL — Prize Medals. 

B. Baker, for light harness, of superior workmanship. 
H. M. Crawford, for calf-skins tanned in oak bark. 
Hickey & Tull, for two portmanteaus. 
Lacey & Phillips, for a case of harness. 
Wisdom, Russell & Whitman, for specimens of curled hair, 
for furniture. 

Honorable Mention. 
H. Adams, for a portable saddle. 

Class XVII.— Prize Medals. 
J. K. Henrick, for superior ruling of account books. 
- S. G. Howe, for a system of characters, slightly angular in 
orm, without capitals, for the blind. 



29 

Honorable Mentions, 

Bradley, Band & Co., for book cloth binding and block 
gilding. 

H. Gassett, for superior ruling of account books. 

J. & W. Mc Adams, for ruled account books and circular 
ruling. 

Libell & Mott, for specimens of account books. 

C. Starr, for binding works for the blind, with thickened 
margins, to prevent the embossing from being pressed out. 

E. Walker & Co., for a Bible elaborately bound and orna- 
mented with a recess for a family register inside the cover. 

Class XIX, — Prize Medal. 
Albro & Hoyt > for floor cloths. 

Honorable Mention. 
A. & A. Lawrence & Co., for carpet. 

Class XX. — Prize Medals. 

W. H. Addington, for shoes for mining purposes. 
Mrs. W. Haight, for shirt. 

The workmen of W. H. Jeffers, for ladies' boots and shoes,, 
(honorable mention to exhibition,) 

Honorable Mentions. 
N. A. Breed & Co.., for children's shoes. 
W. H. Jeffers, for collection of boots and shoes, (prize medal 
to the workman.) 

James Milward & Sons, for bonnets made of cotton braid.. 

Class XXI. — Prize Medals. 

Brown &, Wells, for tools. 

Xorth Wayne Scythe- Company, for scythes, 

D. Simmons & Co., for edge tools. 

Honorable Mention. 
A. B. Allen & Co., for tools, 

*3 



30 

Class XXII. — Prize Medals. 
Adams & Co., for bank lock. 
G. A. Arrowsmith, for permutation locks. 
Chilson, Richardson & Co., for hot-air furnace. 
Cornelius & Co., for chandeliers. 

Day & Newell, for parautoptic permutating locks, (with 
special approbation.) 

S. C. Herring, for salamander safe. 
C. Howland, for bell telegraph. 
McGregor & Lee, for bank lock. 

Honorable Mention. 
Pond & Co., for coking stoves. 

Class XXIV.— Prize Medal. 
Brooklyn Flint Glass Company, for flint glass. 
Class XXVI. — Honorable Mention. 
W. Ragan, for mechanical reclining chair. 

Class XXVII. — Honorable Mentions. 
Maryland Soap-Stone Company, for articles made of soap- 
stone. 

Sail & Mear, for water vase of fine brick clay. 
Class XXVIII. — Council Medal. 
Goodyear, for India rubber. 

Prize Medals. 
J. Fenn, for comb. 

Hayward Rubber Company, for India rubber goods. 
G. Loring, for water pail. 
S. C. Moulton, for India rubber goods. 
Pratt, Julius & Co., for ivory veneer. 

Class XXIX. — Prize Medals. 
Xavier Bazin & Co., for fancy soaps. 
J. Hauel, for toilet soaps. 
M. J. Louderback, for preserved peaches. 
State of Maryland, for collection of produce. 
J. R. St. John, for soap. 
H. P. & W. C. Taylor, for toilet soap. 



31 

Class XXX.— Prize Medal. 

Hiram Powers statue of a Greek Slave, in marble. 

The three prize medals awarded to New Jersey exhibitors 
were obtained by the New Jersey Exploring and Mining Com- 
pany, for zinc ores, iron (Franklinite) ore, and a smelting pro- 
cess. The Trenton Iron Company, for iron in bars and wire 
of fine quality, and by Albro and Hoyt, of Elizabethtown, for 
floor oil cloths. 

I may as well here say, that in the English cotton depart- 
ment I observed a'number of improvements in machinery, of 
American invention, exhibited as of English origin. Danforth's 
(of Paterson) patent frame, has been copied without acknow- 
ledgment, and several other American inventions pirated with- 
out compunction, such as the universal mill and dry gas metre 
of Bogaidus, appropriated by William Crosskill, of Beverly, 
England, (see Offi. Des., vol i., page 299, No. 404.) The 
telegraph of our own Morse was there exhibited in the depart- 
ments of France and Hanover, as the inventions of those coun- 
tries. In the English cotton department I discovered and par- 
ticularly noticed that the general character of the machinery 
was not equal to that made in our own state. So, too, the 
lecomotives of British manufacture exhibited, though of 
excellent workmanship, are not as effective for use, nor as 
beautiful in appearance as those made in New Jersey and 
other sister states. 

In nothing was the inferiority of other nations so striking 
as in the agricultural implements and tools and machines 
designed to assist the cultivator of the soil. The European 
axes, scythes and scythe snaths, shovels, hoes, pitch-forks, 
drills, and ploughs in particular — and, indeed, all their farming- 
utensils, in comparison with those of the United States, are 
vastly inferior. 

The experiment of the American plough in competition with 
British ploughs attracted much attention, and satisfied all 
who witnessed it of the superiority of the American plough 
over all of European construction. In regard to capacity for 



23 

the performance. of the greatest amount of work in the least 
time and with the least motive power, as well as for strength, 
elegance of model, lightness and efficiency every way our 
ploughs were universally awarded the meed of excellence. 

In india rubber goods the United States were unsurpassed 
by any other country. Mr. Day's specimens from his New 
Brunswick works were much admired, and had he been present 
there can be no doubt that he would have succeeded in obtain- 
ing a prize. 

There is no subject in which New Jersey is more interested 
than in the product of her iron mines and manufactures. It 
was, therefore, a subject for congratulation that the Trenton 
Iron Company obtained a prize at the World's Fair for their 
specimens of manufactured iron. The ores of iron, iron and 
iron fabrications contributed to the exhibition from all parts of 
the world constituted one of the most interesting features of 
the exhibition, to a Jerseyman like myself, aware of the facili- 
ties enjoyed by New Jersey for producing the raw material 
and of the excellence of the articles manufactured by us from 
that metal. It may, therefore, notwithstanding the prolixity 
of these remarks, be pardoned that I say a few words on this 
interesting topic. 

Great Britain and her colonies, the United States, and most 
of the European nations, contributed to the fair numerous 
specimens of iron and iron ore, and manufactures ; Sweden and 
Norway, whose iron is so celebrated for conversion into steel, 
were exhibitors of thirty different specimens of iron and steel 
both in the raw and the manufactured state. A good collec- 
tion from the celebrated Swedish mines of Christenhamn and 
Boforss, was exhibited ; it included specimens of steel and 
Roughened iron. Other exhibitors from Sweden showed speci- 
mens of the extreme toughness and resistance to fracture com- 
municated to their iron. The superiority of the Swedish iron 
for steel manufactures is ascribed to its magnetic qualities, and 
the almost exclusive use of wood and charcoal in the smelting 
process. Sweden also furnished several specimens of the per- 



3 



o 



oxide of iron. A vast variety of Russian ores and products of 
the imperial furnaces and works were on exhibition. No 
country contributed more valuable specimens in metallurgy 
than Russia. There is no manufacture which the Russian 
Emperor patronizes with more munificence than that of iron. 
The Imperial Iron Works of Russia are carried on upon a scale 
of grandeur beyond that of any other nation. The specimens 
of magnetic iron ore from Sweden, Russia and the United 
States, attracted much attention. Magnetic iron ore occurs 
in England only in two localities, but in the Uni'ed States it 
is found of a superior quality in several states, and in exhaust- 
less quantities. The ores from Missouri, Lake Superior, the 
New Jersey Franklinite, (a per oxide) of superior quality, the 
spathic iron from Connecticut, the ores from Essex county, 
New York, and the manufactures of steel made therefrom by 
the Adirondac Manufacturing Co., at Jersey City, were all on 
exhibition. The steel from the ores of the Adirondac mines, 
is said to be equal to any in the world. Russia bore off the 
palm for the best sheet iron — Belgium for certain iron cast- 
ings — Morris & Jones, of Philadelphia, for specimens of rolled 
and boiler plate. Scarce a nation but presented some valua- 
ble article of ore or manufactures of iron. Sheffield shone su- 
perior in the variety and splendor, and number of articles of 
cutlery. The Indian tribes of the far east were there with 
their singular instruments of warfare. The swords of the 
Arabians — the scymetar of the Turks — the renowned Damas- 
cene blades, and the far famed Toledo blade, whose exquisite 
temper admitted of the instruments' being tied into a knot, 
altogether united to show the interest felt in these more costly 
fabrications from iron, and the attention which mankind now 
as in the earliest ages, continues to devote to implements of 
war and the manufactures of iron. 

On the whole, our countrymen have really nothing to regret 
in relation to the World's Fair, except that they were not 
present with ten times the amount and variety of contributions, 
greater than that which they furnished. The benefit which 



34 

two or three of the American exhibitors alone, without refer- 
ence to others, will derive from the exhibition, will exceed ten 
times the cost of attending the fair incurred by the whole five 
hundred and thirty four contributors from the United States. 

It cannot be denied that the small exhibit made by the 
United States, at the World's Fair, notwithstanding its dimir 
nutiveness when compared with that of other countries, has 
exalted us in the estimation of all countries. Mr. Riddle, the 
American commissioner, after enumerating the superior advan- 
tages derived by the exhibitors from other countries, from the 
patronage of their respective governments, says : 

" And yet, in the face of these odds, according to the reports 
of the jurors'of awards, to the testimony of English journals 
for the last six weeks of the exhibition, and to universal opi- 
nion everywhere expressed, there was no division in the foreign 
department of the building from which had been taken, for 
the benefit of Great Britain and Continental Europe, so much 
that was novel, ingenious and practical in its application to 
the useful arts, as from that in which were displayed the con- 
tributions from the United States." 

The results of the World's Fair are pregnant with incalcu- 
lable benefits to all classes of mankind. The seed has been 
planted which, in the future, will yield a copious harvest of 
blessings common to all. The industrial representatives of all 
nations have enjoyed an opportunity of comparing the respective 
advances of their constituents in all those works of industry 
conducive to human use and happiness. They have observed 
in what product one surpasses another, and are enlightened for 
more vigorous efforts [to attain real excellence. They have 
perceived the advantages to be derived from such a congress 
of scientific and practical men of all nations at which should 
be exhibited specimens of the proficiency of both, in producing 
from the earth and manufacturing from material substances. 
They will, doubtless, again be gathered together at another 
World's Fair, with more mutual confidence in each other, and 
with a spirit of generous and friendly rivalship aroused, whjf 7 . 



3-3 



will stimulate all to greater exertions and lead to results still 
more valuable. 

Our own country and our own state, we doubt not, on such 
future occasion, when invited to exhibit their productions in 
competition with those of the Old World, will not shrink from 
the invitation. No " poverty of display " will then, we believe* 
he discovered in the American department, in appearance or 
in reality. 

New Jersey need shun no , competitors in those numerous 
branches of manufacture in which her industrious citizens are 
employed. Her Paterson locomotives and engines — her cotton 
duck of the same place — her zinc paints and floor oil cloths — 
her Morris and Sussex iron — her Trenton iron bars and wire 
— her india rubber goods — her carriages and farm wagons 
and Newark omnibusses — her hats, saddlery, glass — her me- 
tallic ores, marl and phosphate of lime, and innumerable other 
products of her soil and industry challenge comparison with 
those of any other state or nation. 

One characteristic particularly distinguished the American 
part of the exhibition at the World's Fair — I allude to the 
fact, that where our contributors actually professed to enter 
the arena of competition for excellence in that which required 
the test of experiment, they invariably came off conquerors. 
Thus it was in the case of the reaping machine, the plough, 
Hobbs's lock, and some other specimens. These at first 
attracted but little attention and excited no general interest, 
yet they finally engrossed more eclat than all the luxurious 
and expensive displays of other nations. 

The superb Malachite door, and other Russian ornaments, 
and the massive utensils of gold and silver, however valuable 
or costly, are utterly unproductive of any results but those 
which gratify taste or vanity ; while the less expensive reaping 
machine and plough are capable of producing effects wmich 
will be felt by nations and generations of all mankind. Had 
the yacht "America " occupied a niche in the Crystal Palace 
she would probably have provoked the derision of many a 
titled admiral or conceited lordling. She would, doubtless, 



36 

have been summarily condemned by all the European royal 
naval architects as a presumptious nautical blunder. Her 
victory capped the climax of the American triumph at the 
World's Fair, and was a glorious epilogue to the drama perform- 
ed by the United States, in that vast theatre where the audience 
w T as the nations of the whole earth. 

I cannot conclude this report without citing the testimony 
of Mr. Riddle, the American commissioner (to whose polite- 
ness and able and energetic performance of his official duties, 
I cheerfully bear witness), in favor of the results which must 
flow from our participation in the Great Exhibition of 1851. 
He says : 

" In its reflex influence upon our industrial condition, I re- 
gard the exhibition as being far from useless. Great numbers 
of our people have not congregated in London during the past 
season in vain. Unlike what has been the fact heretofore, the 
majority who visited England were practical men. Our 
agriculturists were there to compare the farm implements 
which we use with those in use in Europe ; to study the pro- 
cesses by which the waste moors of England have been made 
a garden ; to test the experiments and learn the results of 
chemical agriculture, and to introduce at home that which had 
proved itself pre-eminently successful abroad. Our mechanics 
have not studied in vain the state and products of mechanical 
skill as they were exhibited in that great warehouse of the 
world ; and while they have had no occasion to be ashamed 
of the show from their own workshops, save in paucity of spe- 
cimens, they have learned much to encourage and improve 
their industry at home. Our manufacturers have campared 
processes of labor, familiarized themselves with recent inven- 
tions, learned much in designs and a higher style of patterns, 
and prepared themselves better for future competition in the 
market with foreign fabrics. It w T ould not, perhaps, be safe to 
say, that to every practical or scientific man, a month spent 
at the great exhibition was a source of more improvement at 
large than a year of foreign travel would have been ; but it is 
safe and quite within the bounds of fact, to assert that as an 
agricultural, mechanical and manufacturing people, we have 
gained more stimulus that will be felt, and more knowledge that 
will be useful, and more science that will be applied in our 
onward industrial progress, from what has been seen the last 
six months in London, than we should have attained otherwise 
in twice that number of years." 



37 



No one can deny that excellence in every department of in- 
dustry is a source of national as well as individual wealth. 
That nation will always be the most powerful and wealthy 
w r ho excels in every description of manufactures, and can afford 
to supply the world at large at the least price. England en- 
joys that position now, but the United States have all the raw 
materials, and all the intelligence to enable her to compete 
with Great Britain in every department of industry and pro- 
duction. The great levers of the prosperity of British manu- 
factures are coal and iron. These we possess in quality and 
quantity far exceeding that known to be possessed by the 
British Kingdom. If national wealth and power, if equality, 
if not superiority to Great Britain be a desirable object of 
national ambition, then it is the clearest dictate of policy and 
interest for the United States to strain every nerve to develop 
our boundless resources of coal and iron without delay ; let 
these resources be fully developed, and w T e need thereafter fear 
competitors neither on land or sea. 

The limited time since the receipt of your Excellency's in- 
vitation to furnish you a report of my observations at the 
World's Fair, must be my apology for the inadequacy of this 
feeble attempt to portray one of the most extraordinary spec- 
tacles ever witnessed by man. To those who are desirous of 
examining in detail all the wonders of the World's Fair, re- 
ference must be had to the elaborate catalogues and descrip- 
tions and histories furnished by the English press. I beg leave 
in respectful acknowledgment of the honor conferred on me 
by the appointment of your Excellency, as a New Jersey 
Commissioner at the World's Fair, to present through you to 
the state the accompanying volumes, comprising full, authentic 
and accurate accounts of all the articles displayed at the ex- 
hibition. They contain much valuable information for all 
classes, and may be consulted with advantage by those en- 
gaged in every pursuit of human industry. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

your obed't servant, 

GEORGE VAIL. 

Mormstown, January 3, 1852. 
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